Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Feeding Genius ❯ Desperate Time - Part Two ( Chapter 7 )

Feeding Genius

Chapter Seven

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures - Part 2

Disclaimer - DBZ is not mine… I just want Vegeta to be! *cries*

There is a pretence in everything that surrounds me.

Not wanting to think about the conversation I shared with Vegeta this morning I have decided the best course of action is to behave as though none of it happened. Well ok that's not entirely true. I did at least send a few surplus technicians over to hanger five in the hope that they would fool Vegeta into thinking I am doing as he wants.

I don't know why but there is a portion of me that needs to stall his departure. Whether it is because I want to resolve our differences face to face or whether I'm scared that once he leaves he might never find it within his pride to return I am not sure, but perhaps it is the combining of them both that unsettles me right now. A certain amount of my mind screams that I will not feel secure letting him go, not unless I over-see every little detail of work on the ship myself.

To be honest as soon as he left me I wanted to immerse myself in the work. I wanted nothing more than the distraction of technology and the challenge that it presented, so my mind would not have to go over the pain of reality. Indeed I would probably be there right now, had I not told my son that I would take him to see Goten.

As it is I have far too much time to think, and thinking at this moment is too much to take. My mind keeps wandering back to Capsule Corporation and to that portion of the compound, wherever it might be, that Vegeta now resides in. I wonder what he is thinking right now. I'm curious as to how he views me. Is he angry? Very likely. Is he resentful of my behaviour? Possibly. Is he thinking about the consequences of his actions? I sigh. I doubt it.

"Bulma?" I stop mid sip on a frosted glass of lemonade. "Bulma are you listening to a word I'm saying?"

I shake my head, freeing the cloud of my mind for civility. "I'm sorry Chi."

She frowns at me, "Well I don't know Bulma Briefs! You don't come over to see us for three months and then when you do finally arrive you sit staring into space the whole time. You know a friend might just be insulted."

The mention of space makes me grimace, "I'm sorry… I've got a lot on my mind. I didn't mean to ignore you."

"Well I'm sure you didn't!" she huffs, "but I understand that it hasn't been easy for you recently." Her voice is laced with knowing. She pulls out a newspaper from under the picnic blanket we're seated on and hands it to me. "It looks like Capsule Corporation is making front page news."

I look at the headline of `Capsule Corp. for the Cleaners' and groan. Throwing it back in the direction it came from I rub a hand across my forehead.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not really." I admit.

There is silence for a few seconds.

A hand rests on my shoulder and I look up to meet twin pools of dark eyes shining in concern for me. "I know we haven't always been the closest friends Bulma," Chi begins, "but I know how much my Goku loved you, and in a way that love has transcended through me. I think of you as my own sister at times," Tears jump to her eyes and shimmer in the mid-day sunshine, "You don't look well. If telling me anything will make you feel better then you know I'm here for you." She smiles as I look at her, "Now why not put all this silly pride behind us and start from the beginning?"

"I dunno…" I begin, but she lowers her hand to mine, squeezing it once as encouragement.

It is no use. I want a third party to talk to no matter how much I have tried to bottle all this up inside. I don't like the way it feels to be so alone. Even if Chi turns around and tells me that I've been the biggest baka in the universe in acting the way I have, then at least I'll have shared my burden. So as Goten and Trunks run happily undisturbed in a peculiar game of sparring tag, I pour out the actions of the last few days in one gigantic splurge onto Chi Chi.

My digression lasts over half an hour as I relate to her, that tale I have already shared with you (minus the incident over my desk). By the time I wind my way towards the present, the boys have tired themselves out. They are both laying a distance apart from each other, flat on their backs and laughing at each other's inability to move. Chi and I both look out across to them, the sun hot on our faces despite the semi shade of an umbrella. Normally I would find their despair amusing, but Chi still has yet to speak and I'm anxious as in what light she views this all.

It is no secret that she still harbours a grudge against Vegeta, and however much I care for him I can see the reasonableness of it. She hasn't had the opportunity to get to know the side to him that I have and considering that, I have to be lenient on her prejudice.

She takes a large breath, perhaps a prelude to something serious.

"You know Bulma. I'm not quite sure where I stand on this one." She turns to look at me wistfully. "As much as I hate to admit it." She adds emphasis, "And I do hate to - I think Vegeta has some valid points."

I open my mouth in astonishment.

"Uh-uh!" she chides shaking her head. "You want my honest opinion and I'm going to give it. I don't sugar-coat to protect feelings. Hear me out ok."

I look at her feeling angry but quietly resigned. If its one thing I can rely on then it's her brutal honesty. She is very similar to Vegeta in that respect, only her delivery is somewhat different.

"Just because I grudgingly agree with Vegeta in certain aspects, doesn't mean I disagree with your actions. I'm not one for sitting on the fence Bulma, but as far as I can see it this situation is six of one and half a dozen of the other. You have a right to be angry at Vegeta, but he has a right to try and protect you. He should have had the foresight to see the consequences of his actions. That is a part that I agree with you in very strongly Bulma, but you also have to allow the situation to be reversed. I also believe that you could have shown more foresight as well."

My eyebrows dip in confusion, and Chi smiles warmly at me. "In what way?" I ask.

"Oh come on Bulma. I have an antipathy for Vegeta, but one thing is very clear and (for me) it is the only redeeming feature he has."

"What?"

"The Saiyan worships the ground you walk on. His…" She looks perplexed, "Well dear me I was going to say love, but the word doesn't seem to fit. I suppose his dedication to you is something very apparent. No one can doubt that, even if they doubt him. In short, and to be perfectly blunt, you should have known how Vegeta would react. I've been married to Goku so long. If there's one thing I know about Saiyans (other than their ability to empty the contents of a fridge in less time than it takes to say please) then it's that they're very possessive. Can you really blame him for feeling threatened by Mr Simmons?"

"No." I agree, lowering my head. "Its just… just. I'm so angry at him Chi! I really thought he was starting to realize…"

"Realize what?"

"Realize what parts of his character hurt me, just as much as others make me love him so intensely. If it was all just about protecting me, then maybe I wouldn't be so mad, but you didn't see the look in his eyes. I was only the excuse he needed. It wasn't compassion or even jealousy that drove him so fully it was his ego, pure and simple."

"I agree with you," she reassures, "but would his ego need sating if there was nothing more to do with it?"

"I guess not." There is a moment of reflection. "Well what about after this? Perhaps if he had shown the slightest morsel of regret for what he had done then I could have let it go, but Chi! He didn't even to seem to realize he hurt me. He still doesn't know it and that's what infuriates me the most. How can he not see it?"

"I honestly don't know Bulma, I can never work that man out. You know him better than anyone, but there's one thing I am sure of. Pushing him away in this manner isn't going to solve anything. How can you possibly resolve this if he's thousands of light-years away? You have to sit down and talk things through with him. It's the only way, running away from your problems won't make them go away." She catches my gaze with her own.

"Bulma! Trunks!"

The exuberant call breaks the seriousness as Gohan jumps from Kinto'un above us. I wave meekly at him, forcing out a smile, but it appears that Chi Chi's determined to get the last word. She squeezes my hand again to gain attention, "Talk to him!" she says stubbornly, before getting up and hugging her eldest son.

I force myself out of melancholy to likewise greet Gohan. He turns to look at the two youngest semi-Saiyans immobile on the floor. He laughs lightly. "You two still don't know your limitations do you?" he sounds so relaxed, just like his father. He kneels down between the two, a hand over each of their bellies. A small bead of light ignites in each hand. He looks over his shoulder at me, "What do you think Bulma-san? Do you think they deserve some extra energy or do you think they need…" the ki evaporates in his hands, "To learn their lesson by a severe tickling?"

Both his hands pounce with extreme speed and the shrieks of laughter rebound around the mountains, reflecting over the forest in the distance and being amplified by the valley.

I laugh out loud, temporarily forgetting my worries. "Get his feet Gohan!"

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The sun is setting now and having spent a more relaxing afternoon in the country than I had originally envisaged I'm now turning my hover car into the front drive. Trunks is asleep beside me. Despite receiving extra energy from Gohan he still needs to sleep his exhaustion off.

Reversing the thrusters I land neatly outside the main building. Grabbing my handbag from the glove box I sling it over my shoulder, before walking around to the other door to let my son out. "Trunks?" I whisper, but he's far too gone to wake up fully. His eyes open a fraction before rolling back into sleep. I smile at him and lifting him from his car seat, walk into the house.

I go straight up the stairs as I enter, laying my car keys on the landing table. I gently kiss my sons head, stroking the soft skin of his cheek as he unconsciously snuggles into me. "You really did a number on yourself didn't you kiddo!"

Using the wall for balance I relinquish a hand to press the keypad on Trunks' room. The door opens with a whoosh and I'm about to step inside when I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I'd know that surge anywhere. Taking a step back I look both ways down the hall. Nothing. I shrug my shoulders, if he wants to speak to me, he'll have to do it personally. I'm not chasing all through the house, just because he calls in his own absurd way.

Safely depositing Trunks in his bed I bring the cotton covers over him, putting his favourite stuffed toy underneath and tucking them both in. I lay another kiss on his forehead, "Angels, angels," I whisper, "God bless, sleep tight and I'll see you in the morning." Moving away from the bed I exit the room and go to my own.

Chi Chi's words still play heavily on my mind as I cross the hall. Is she right? Am I being just as obstinate as Vegeta? It's so unlike Chi to be nonbiased with regards to Vegeta. I tell you it has certainly made me think more on the subject and more impartially as well.

Vegeta called me unreasonable. Did he have a point? My head aches just thinking about it. I shake the feeling off and walking into the wardrobe, discard my handbag and jewellery to pull out a fresh white lab coat.

Sighing once again (I seem to be doing it a lot recently) I leave my room and go downstairs.

I can hear the canned laughter of a studio audience resonating from the lounge as I walk past. "Ah Bulma! There you are!"

I smile as my dad walks up to me and turning the television off, lays a simple kiss on my cheek. Kitty is crawling over his shoulders and purring so violently that I give in, scratching it affectionately behind the ears. Dad smiles, but it is clouded by something more serious.

"Why didn't you tell me things had gone so far?" he admonishes.

I look at him and the disappointment on his face. It breaks my heart. "I didn't want you to be worried." I admit, "But it isn't that bad. I'll get us out of this. I know I will. I just have to find a few billion zeni somewhere and then we're sorted." I smile nervously.

He `tuts' me, shaking his head, "Bulma be serious!" he chides.

"I'm sorry dad, but really I'll work something out. I have to." I can feel the tears stinging my eyes, "I'm not about to let you down. I'll work myself into the ground if I have to. I will not let this business go under!"

He smiles and reassuringly hugs me, "I know you won't Bulma, but I don't want you making yourself ill." There is a pause as he lifts his glasses, rubbing a hand over his eyes. I think it's more for stress relief than anything else. "I have been speaking with a few old contacts today. My, my! That Vegeta's influence won't soon be forgotten I can tell you that! I was hoping for a better reaction. I guess it's at times like this that you find out who your real friends are. I wish I could help you Bulma, but Mr. Tajoma is the only person I spoke to whom is willing to put his resources forward. If only his influence were more substantial!"

"I know!" I sigh, "All we can do now is hope for a miracle."

"Don't worry," he smiles, "Miracles happen nine times out of ten."

I desperately try to scowl through the absurdity, "Now who's not being serious?"

He looks only semi apologetic, "So are you off to the lab now?"

"No, I'm going to work on Capsule Four for Vegeta."

His face twists in concern and I turn away, "Capsule Four, but isn't that…?"

"Yes." I interrupt tersely, walking into the hall… "Yes, yes, yes."

I look disparagingly up to the globed structure un-capsulated in front of me. I'd forgotten just how big it was, and as the last light of the day disappears over the horizon behind the open hanger door, I also remember how ominous it use is portended. The last time it was used was when Vegeta turned Super Saiyan.

One last bead of light relinquishes the snare of dusk and glistens off the smooth hull before it is completely lost to shadows. On cue the floodlights boom and the whole area is ablaze in white light.

To be perfectly honest the amount of time the ship has laid dormant is the only worry technologically as far as I can tell. The components are mostly made out of titanium, and having been vacuum encapsulated shouldn't be affected by wear. I guess only the computer will need the most basic of reformatting before its ready for Vegeta to use. He could be gone within twenty-four hours. I wish it could be longer. Maybe I could stretch it to thirty-six? I could if I dawdle.

"Henry?" I question as the head technician walks down the steps.

"Yes Miss Briefs?"

"Is everything set up for me to start work?"

"Sure is!" he says, sipping on a cup of coffee, "I had it done three hours ago."

"Oh," I reply, "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" He walks down and fiddles with the large metal guy ropes attaching the ship to the floor.

"How far have you come on with the propulsion testing?" I ask, flipping through an array of telemetry readings.

"I'm just about to test the engines for the first time. We had a slight problem with thrusters C and D. It seems the last landing knocked them up a bit and whoever re-capsulated either didn't know how or didn't think about fixing it. A large sheet of metal from the hull must have slipped and melted under the heat. They took us a good two hours to replace. It would have taken longer, but thankfully there were some components still capsulated and so we used them rather than starting from scratch."

"Ok, but I'm afraid we'll have to wait to see what a great job you guys did. I can't risk firing the engines up until I've checked over the main computer, just to make sure."

"No problem," he calls out as I walk up the ramp and inside the awesome structure.

It's a long time since I last stepped foot in this machine. It was grounded for so long as Vegeta's gravity room before we added the more substantial building onto the main housing complex. I think I can still trace a hint of his musty scent, a smell that still manages to make me weak at the knees.

It's surprising how many memories this place holds. I smile - how many secrets as well. No one could imagine the concessions I have gained from the proud Saiyan no Ouji in the times we have been here together.

"Perhaps you could spend your share of this time thinking about what you expect from me. I have given concessions from every aspect of myself since Trunks was born, no before even that, since I first laid foot on this planets soil a second time. I have changed who I am so much in the last eight years I can hardly recognise what I have become."

My composure breaks at the remembrance of those words, "Oh great!" I say, sagging onto the floor, "Vegeta's right. What am I doing?"

In compensation to my own racing of feelings I pull my laptop towards me. It's all hooked up to the central computer just as Henry had said. My thoughts won't be turned away from Vegeta though. It feels as though I've had a sudden vision of my own words seen through his eyes and it makes me gasp for breath and fire race to my cheeks. I shake my head as the feeling passes. Impossible!

My hand flies over the keyboard, my mind blocking out the emotional to allow for the technological. I skim through streams of data. It's strange but there seems to be less room on the main hard drive than I remember. I keep going though, despite my uncertainty, perhaps it's just that my conscience is divided between getting this hulk of metal in proper working order and wondering why I'm doing it in the first place - when all I really want to do is speak to Vegeta and try and work things out.

I do a scan just to make sure.

I wasn't mistaken. "Damn! What on earth has taken up all this space?"

Aimlessly I wade deeper through the files until I find a group that I don't recognise. Even the format looks slightly strange. It as if they have been bodged together in some weird meld, just so the files are compatible and can be viewed with the current computer software. Out of curiosity I double click on one of the smaller files.

Holy crap!

"It's not possible!" I murmur, standing in awe. Data streams onto my computer in ream after ream - the scroll bar becoming smaller and smaller by the second. "Wow!" It feels like I've just been hit by a tidal wave. I look closer at the screen in front of me. "Incredible!"

I tap at the keyboard looking closer, just to make sure. "Oh sweet Kami what have you done Vegeta?"

My eyes are now trained intensively on my laptop and my mind does flips somewhere between doubt and hope. It appears that I have stumbled onto some kind of inter planetary sorting system. I have star maps, planet guides, and species differentiation charts. Universal monetary logs. Spatial interspecies history and allegiance works. In short I have a complete ministry of information on the entire known universe! Everything!

I try and calm my breathing as I take in all that is laid before me, but as soon as this fantastic revelation is digested, my mind is overflowed with another. A small grin pulls threateningly at the corner of my mouth. I push up off the floor under the new information. The repercussions could be monumental! Even so there is a portion of me that is mad it took me this long to think of it. I hurriedly extract my cell phone, almost dropping it in my current state.

"Dad!" I whisper, frightened for some reason of being overheard, "Dad, I think we just found our miracle!"

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A/N - Whoa! I know I said it would be a couple of weeks before I got this chapter out, but inspiration just seemed to hit me square between the eyeballs. So until the next time my muse decides to punch me… stick a fork in me… *hugs* Ember